


Ten Step Programme

by DoreyG



Series: Steps [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody is a Dummy and That's Okay, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Making Up, Protective Siblings, time stamp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:17:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4603017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoreyG/pseuds/DoreyG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Step One</p><p>Pretend that you hate each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Step Programme

**Author's Note:**

  * For [storiesfortravellers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfortravellers/gifts).



> Written for Daria234 for the timestamp meme, she asked for “Twelve Step Plan - several months later” and I was happy to oblige!

**Step One**

Pretend that you hate each other. Glower every time you happen to be in the same place, trade sharp quips, never allow yourself to get too close. Always, _always_ remember what happened last time.

...And try not to let it kill you too much.

**Step Two**

Grunt every time Mick asks you what's wrong, avoid his attempts to figure out the mysterious gulf between you and Bar- the _Flash_. Mick doesn't have a long attention span, if you can distract him for long enough he'll forget anything.

Feel glad that Lisa isn't here, to see through you with one quick glance.

**Step Three**

But don't kill him. Know that you should, know that it's the only logical option if you want to remain free, but don't. Allow him to get away every single time, allow him to beat you sometimes, allow him to remain bright and free and so very delectable in that red suit.

Shrug, when he asks you, "why are you doing this?" You've never explained yourself before, and you don't have to start now.

**Step Four**

Dream of how you could explain yourself. Long for the ability to do so, to sit him down and look him in the eye and tell him everything. How scared you were, how new it all was, how much you cared for him in a way that was bright and hot and fragile all at once.

How, if you could change anything in your life, hurting him would be at the top of the list.

**Step Five**

Have a pleasant conversation, for possibly the first time in your life. Allow it to happen on a casual day, when you bump into each other in a coffee shop (the same sort of coffee shop that you've been standing outside for months now). Make a witty comment, watch him hide a smile. Laugh at one of his jokes, watch his eyes widen just a little. Keep it casual and polite, but still somehow closer than you've been since you stamped all over his heart and left with the smell of him still in your nostrils.

Walk away smiling, and doesn't that feel odd?

**Step Six**

Allow Lisa to visit, because she is your little sister and you have missed her no matter how much you grumble. Try not to flinch, as she gets that certain expression upon her face the moment she walks in the door. Dodge her questions, ignore her purring quips as best you can. Drink a beer, try not to feel a certain sense of dread as her and Mick put their heads together and start to plot.

Know that she only wants the best for you, and drown the revelation that that's what Barry is.

**Step Seven**

Keep having pleasant conversations. Know that it's a bad idea, try desperately to believe that it's a bad idea over the fiercely burning hope in your chest, but keep doing it anyway. Bump into him in coffee shops, have casual conversations in the street. Tease him gently by text, even manage the odd phonecall to fluster him. Start talking to him when you're both in costume one day, without really thinking about it, and find yourself completely unable to stop.

Realize, with a spark of feeling that you thought you were incapable of after all this time, that you don't really want to.

**Step Eight**

Settle into a routine. Wear your nickname like a badge of honour, lead your band - as much as Mick and Lisa can be described as a band - of rogues in a way that is both noble and firm. Take whatever you want, build up your reputation anew. See Barry every day, tease him mercilessly. Mock, talk, smile so wide that your cheeks hurt.

...Feel happy, for the first time since you closed the door on the apartment and set off alone again.

**Step Nine**

Let him kiss you. One day, out of the blue. Let him press you back against the wall, slam your lips savagely together like he just can't hold back anymore. Let his hands trace over you, more and more insistent as he starts to pant.

Only stop him when he starts to work his way under your shirt, push him back slightly. Tell him that it's a bad idea, that you're too different, that he deserves better and should find himself somebody who doesn't toe the line of hurting him every single day. Ignore the way your heart crumbles, under every single word.

 _Don't_ ignore the way it springs back to health, when he glares up impatiently at you and says, "you're the only thing that I've ever really wanted."

...Allow him to kiss you, and then kiss you again.

**Step Ten**

Wake up next to him in the morning, with his head on your chest and light in your eyes. Stroke his hair, debate kissing his forehead. Breathe in his scent, his even so distracting scent that you’ve been trying to carry on a shirt for months now, and try not to start when he suddenly opens his eyes.

...Take in his smile, his sudden brightness. And know, as he pulls you down, that you're never letting go of him again.

And win back the love of your life, as difficult – and easy – as that.


End file.
